Vesuvia
A city-state built into a cliff by the sea, Vesuvia serves as the setting for The Arcana visual novel. Vesuvia is known for its tangled, multi-layered network of canals and aqueducts . Vesuvia is located in the southern hemisphere of the world. Currently ruled by the widowed Countess Nadia after the death of her husband, Count Lucio, 3 years prior to the start of the game. Areas of the City Aqueducts : The aqueducts are tunneled underground and are distributed throughout the city, serving as the main water supply. It is unclear when they were built or by whom, but the system is able to sustain the city's population. Presumably, the source of the water comes from nearby springs and rivers. The Coliseum : Abandoned since the death of Count Lucio, the Coliseum used to hold gladiator fights. Currently, hosted underneath is the illegal Red Market, accessed by a hidden hatch in the middle of the Coliseum. The Red Market has taverns and shops of all kind, including a memory dealer and an animal seller. Red Market can be visited in both Nadia's and Julian's routes. The Red Market The Lazaret : An island off the coast of Vesuvia which housed the many victims of the Red Plague and for most of them became their final resting place. It was a quarantine area for the Plague and later on a crematorium when the death count rose too high. Many people in Vesuvia believe it to be haunted, and in Nadia's route, wailing can be heard from within the island. In Asra's route, its shown that the towers on the island, after years of abandonment, have begun to deteriorate and crumble. Ferries no longer go to the Lazaret and it has been largely abandoned. The Marketplace : The Marketplace is a large shopping center in Vesuvia, containing various businesses from fortune tellers to bakeries. Asra, Portia and the Apprentice all visit it at least semi-frequently since people there recognize them. Magic Shop : Left to the Apprentice by their relatives, the magic shop is the home of Asra and the Apprentice. Opening hours are signaled by a lit lantern on the front, and the shop itself has multiple magical ingredients from all over the world. Tarot readings are done in the back room, and the actual living space is on the second floor. The Palace : The Palace is the home of the Countess and from where the city is run. The Palace is set high above the city of Vesuvia, and requires a long, exhausting trek to reach. It's secured by patrolling guards, a moat, and an iron gate that blocks the bridge to the Palace's main entrance. The Temple District : An area where the temples of many different faiths reside. As Vesuvia has no official religion, the people are free to practice a multitude of different cultural or spiritual practices. The Plaza The Rowdy Raven : A seedy tavern in a shadier part of the city. The patrons are wary of the Palace Gaurds and flee from them. A spot favoured by Julian. The Shopping District : The shopping district is an area in Vesuvia that was well known for its many shops. Presently, the whole district is being swallowed by water from the canals and smells of rot. The flooding began around the time of the Red Plague, and has been as such since then, neglected by the Palace. Nadia is very upset by this, and talks of starting work to fix the situation. The Statue Garden :The Statue Garden is filled with statues of previous counts. Lucio moved them from the city squares to the garden in order to "memorialize" them. The Flooded District The Docks Vlastomil's estate :Vlastomil's estate is visited in Nadia's route. On the front of the estate are many large statues of worms in distress, with even a batwinged worm fountain. The inside of the estate is disorientating, with hallways that lead to dead ends and doors with nothing behind them. There are also several rooms filled with more questionable things, like Vlastomil's Wormarium filled with heated compost and worms as well as his dedicated habitat for red beetles. According to the Apprentice, the estate has a "deep dark presence, something old, sick and unknowable" in it. Areas outside the City The Forest :The Forest's actual size or how far it reaches isn't known, but it's large and reaches from the palace to the edges of the city. It at least somewhat overlooks Vesuvia, since it has a waterfall that goes into the city and it's waters. The outskirts of the forest lead into a desert and wheat fields. It has a mountain somewhere near it where Muriel does stone divination. Muriel's hut :The forest is also the home of Muriel, where he has a dilapidated and old rock house covered in moss. It's half buried under the roots of a twisting tree and has many protections around it. The inside of the hut has a "natural ceiling" and a hearth built into one of the walls, although it's rarely used. There's also an alcove carved into the wall, with a bear statue with a sad grimace painted on it's face inside. The Cave :The Cave is a place that many magic users visit, the walls of the cave are covered in the markings of previous visitors. The cave also has a water pond with a large lily pads and a flower at it's center - in Asra's route, Asra brings the Apprentice to this cave to help them remember. The pond and its flower also seems to enhance magical properties, as when Apprentice falls into the water after smelling/touching the flower, they can see the cave and the forest in a different way and their magic is more powerful. The Fields Trivia * The use of structures such as aqueducts and coliseums along with certain characters having titles like Quaestor, Praetor, and so on hint towards Vesuvia having an infrastructure similar to the Ancient Rome. * Also the presence of the canals and gondolas, the Lazaret being a reference to the Poveglia island, and the roman infrastructure as well implies Vesuvia being similar to Italian city-states like Venice and Florence. Gallery Vesuvia map.png Shop - Exterior.png Shop interior.png Shop - Back.png Market.png Marketplace night.png Slums - Sunset.png Slums - Day.png Slums - Night.png Rowdy Raven.png Slums - Backstage.png Slums - Abandonded Garden.png Mazelinka Home - Day.png Mazelinkas Home - Night.png Mazelinka's house bedroom.png Town Square.png Canal - Rich.png Coliseum.png Coliseum arena.png Coliseum box.png Coliseum dungeon.png Red Market.png Canal - Poor.png Canal poor night.png Docks day.png Docks night.png Docks hideout.png Lazaret.png Lazaret interior.png Vlastomil Mansion - Exterior.png Vlastomil mansion int.png Forest.png Forest light.png Muriel's Hut Ext.png Muriel's Hut Int.png Cave dark.png Cave light.png Category:Setting